Unraveling
by Michael.J.Ross
Summary: He goes to work the next day with a strange sense of confidence, like all the pieces clicked into place. All he had to do was show her what the picture looked like.


A/N: This has been sitting in my drafts for longer than I can remember. It was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but at the rate I was writing this story was never going to see the light of day. So I can at least give you guys the first half.

I don't own Suits. Timeline is roughly two months after the merger. T for language, but rating may change depending on how writing goes.

* * *

_It wasn't supposed to happen, but it did, and now she's tangled in his sheets as he plants kisses from her jaw down much farther than she anticipated. He slowly unravels every inch of her body, while she shivers and moans under him. _

_It wasn't supposed to happen, but it did. _

_April _

The firm, much larger with its new international partner, teetered on the edge of collapse the first month. The stakes seemed larger, the tempo faster, and hostilities numerous to say the least. Harvey did a lot if soul searching and now he was somewhat composed and thriving. His relationship with Mike was on the mend, and he was trying to make a relationship with Scottie work. Things seemed to be reaching normalcy even if he still found it hard to trust everyone.

Donna never asked Harvey why he brought Scottie back, never even brought it up. The minute Scottie returned she began to pull away with hopes that they would be good for each other. Picking up Norma's extra work here, pulling Scottie in on a case there, Donna made an effort to give them a chance. Harvey had been through so much these last few months and she just wanted him to find stable ground—to be happy for once.

She knew he'd eventually notice her slow retreat, but she had no intention of letting him win her back, this was for his own sake after all. After the memo incident she realized that Harvey needed to let more people in. So that when she made another mistake, a thought that scared her everyday, there would be someone else to help keep him afloat.

Donna's detachment certainly didn't stop Harvey from trying, and a unpleasant game consumed them. Harvey would go out of his way to rope Donna back in and Donna would somehow rope Scottie into the mix. The ending was always the same, with Donna gracefully tip-toeing out of the situation. Harvey, dejected by Donna's actions became snippy with Scottie, which strained their relationship. Third week into the game Scottie folded.

"Do you love me?" she tightened her grip around her scotch glass as she sat at the end of his couch. The late hour seemed to break all armor they wore during the day, made both feel vulnerable. The question threw Harvey off, confusion washed over his face briefly. "Do you love me? Because the way I see it I'm just standing between you and Donna."

Harvey sighed calculating his next words, "It's not like that." He felt like a broken record. He wondered momentarily how often he had used that line to describe his relationship with Donna. "Listen, Dana I'm trying, I want to make this work, but I need…time, time to process all the changes."

"Seriously Harvey, get over it! I almost lost my job trying to help you, yet part of you still can't seem to trust me. The minute I try to get closer to you, you immediately rope Donna back in. You can't use Donna like a shield Harvey; it isn't fair to me and it certainly isn't fair to her. I can't be Donna, but I do love you Harvey. If you really care about us then you need to let this go," Scottie storms out leaving Harvey tormented and confused.

"Let what go?" he poses the question to a dimly office. Scottie was asking too much of him, he wasn't ready for terms like love, hell he isn't even sure he believed in it. He needed Donna, she's the best and he couldn't do a damn thing without her. Trying to bring Donna back was simply to ensure he was the best at his job; the lie dies in his head, because even he can't convince himself to believe it. Perhaps, Scottie was right to be intimidated by Donna, by their history together.

He tells himself that the courage he needs lays at the bottom of his scotch glass, but 6 glasses later he only finds old memories—of her, of them that night:

"_Just buy me enough drinks and I'll let you get what ever this is out of your system"_

He laughs like it's some cruel joke because she's never gotten out of his system; she simply reorganized it for him.

Harvey journeys to work the next day with a massive hangover, while Donna, without a single quip hands him his coffee and walks off. Harvey, doing what he does best, keeps Scottie at arms length at all times—it breaks her.

Donna notices the changes between the two lawyers and tries to push Harvey to salvage what's left. She mentions to him several times to open up to Scottie, but it falls on deaf ears. Scottie, broken by Harvey, retreats back to London. Things at the firm get worse.

_May_

She curses Scottie for leaving, for sending Harvey spiraling in a pool of his own uncertainty. Donna rooted for her, supported her interest in Harvey, and instead she, like almost every other woman in Harvey's life, left the minute Harvey's armor came back up. Donna wanted to help him, but she was the problem. So she kept her distance hoping it would give him time. Of course she never factored in Stephen Huntley. He had made it clear, from the moment of his arrival, that he was interested in Donna. She's no saint and enjoys the attention more than she realizes. Even lets him flirt with her and take her out to dinner, but always outside of Harvey's presence. She grows to like him and the less-problematic company he provides. There's a certain levity being with Stephen and she's grateful the relationship never reaches the seriousness she hopes to have one day.

Meanwhile, Harvey lets Scottie's sudden departure burn him, leave an ugly scar inside. He was finally beginning to understand what Scottie wanted, but she left. He had tried to make things work with her but she never tried to understand him—Donna understands him. The thought is comforting and frustrating because of the implications.

Harvey eventually finds out about Donna's extracurricular activities and arrives early one day to catch her on her way up to the 50th floor.

"Harvey don't," she anticipates Harvey's train of thought as they walk together to his office

It certainly doesn't stop him from asking, "Are you sleeping together?" Holds his breath like her answer could change everything about them.

"That's none of your concern Harvey, but yes we are. Drop it," but Harvey presses harder.

"He's the," before he could finish Donna cuts him off, "No, he's not the enemy. We are all on the same team the merger made that perfectly clear!"

"Are we on the same team?" they stop at her desk and for while they stare.

She turns to him and for the first time in while she gives him a sad and understanding smile, " Harvey, I've always been on your team."

Her declaration holds more meaning to Harvey then he understands.

_June_

They slip back into a confortable pattern, but it's still strained. Stephen Huntley stays, hovering around Donna constantly. Harvey's distaste for Stephen turns into possessiveness, possessiveness that rebuilds the tension, and sets everything they rebuilt ablaze. She ignores it at first, tries to balance Harvey's increasing demands with the rebuilding of the firm. Mike's help makes it easier, but even he begins to notice Harvey's growing hostilities towards everyone at the firm. Mike is eventually benched and Donna is left standing between Harvey and the firm.

Harvey knew he was being childish, but he couldn't lose her to Stephen. His need for Donna reaches a level he doesn't really understand. It hurt when she was around Stephen, because it was a constant reminder that Donna didn't need him. Everything erupts one night at his door. He swings it open finding her unhinged and seething with anger. Wordlessly he lets her trying to act as if he doesn't know why she was here.

Whatever gusto Donna carried with her into his apartment left once he closed the door. She felt small in just her jeans and hoodie worn too many times; being here, made it hard to breath, reminded her of all the things they said, things they did. It doesn't stop the verbal vomit from exiting her mouth, "You're a fucking ass you know that?"

He pauses waiting for her to say more, not surprised in the slightest when she continues, "I thought I told you we're on the same team, but you're forgetting Mike, Jessica, and Louis are also on that team. We are all trying to build a bridge between Pearson and Darby. Stop trying to burn it down."

"We can't trust them Donna. We can't even trust Jessica anymore," the wound of his defeat had never healed only festered.

"Harvey, would you just get your head out of your ass long enough to realize that everyone at the firm, even Stephen Huntley, is on your side. Is this about Scottie leaving? It's time to let those wounds heal Harvey." The pitying glance makes his blood boil.

He slowly calculates his words, "At first it was." Closing his eyes he replays his real conversation with Scottie, gives Donna the cliff notes.

They're sitting at the stools by the kitchen in silence thinking. "It's us isn't it? We're the problem," He wanted to tell her yes and no because they were the solution to their problem. She thinks that maybe what they had buried was simply resurfacing and they just needed to bury it again. "Harvey I know a lot of things happened this past year, but the lines are the same we'll just redraw them."

She's wrong though, what he feels isn't old but born out of realizations these past months; realizations that he needed her, that she is the only one who'll ever stay, that he wants to try what he could never accomplish with anyone else, that he—the word never reaches thought he's not ready to say it yet.

His eyes are on her lips, they're moving saying something he ignores. Then his lips are on hers and talks of lines die when she lets his tongue slip into her mouth. Everything about them, placed across the line they created, smashes together as they continue to kiss.

She pulls away, "Shit, we can't do this!" and before he has a chance to pull her back she's already out the door. It's the second time he's left alone, but it doesn't hurt.

He goes to work the next day with a strange sense of confidence, like all the pieces clicked into place. All he had to do was show her what the picture looked like.

_July_

It's slow, painstakingly slow, and Harvey doesn't have that kind of patience. He laughs because a few months ago he was asking for Scottie's patience, and now he can't wait another minute. But it's Donna and the only way through to her is to break down her defenses. So, he plays nice, puts up with her frigidness, and Stephen's presence; tries to rebuild things with Jessica to show that he can build himself back up on his own. Trying not to be too obvious was harder than it looked, because she knew him better than anyone. If he pressed to hard the walls he chipped away at came back up, but they never came back up quite as strong—he was wearing her down.

"Harvey, I know what you're up to and it needs to stop," she tells him one night as they pack up to part ways for the evening.

His smile is too playful, "Oh, and what am I up too?"

"Whatever it is you're feeling now isn't real. Someone else is going to walk into your life, someone that matters and you'll," she stops midsentence and for a moment Harvey sees a glimmer of sadness, "move on."

He counts the look as a small victory.

"Are you and Harvey dating," Mike flinches out of fear that Donna might slap him instead he receives a look that's a mix of disbelief and disgust.

"I'm just going to pretend those words never vacated your mouth," she continued typing waiting for Mike to leave.

He stays deciding to push the issue, something Harvey would do. "The kid's spent to much time around Harvey," she thinks quietly to herself. Mike continues, "Because he's been acting really strange around you. He didn't even act like this when he was with Scottie," the words fly out of his mouth at rapid speeds.

"Strange is a relative word, Michael. Now, are you done wasting my time," the use of his full name seems to end his curiosity and he walks off slightly frustrated.

Harvey returns from a meeting with Jessica and hovers at her desk, "What's up with him?" Her look of annoyance is the only answer he needs.

The meeting with Jessica was unexpected in every sense. He came in ready to talk shop instead he got sat down and interrogated like a mother would do to a son keeping secrets. "What game are you playing at Harvey?" Jessica posses the question vaguely, enough to set her cross. She would have to be blind not to notice the change in Harvey's behavior.

"Not entirely sure I follow," his smile collapsed slightly as he rapidly thought of all his actions these past months. Sure he had been a dick for most of it, but he was growing to accept things much faster, had other more important things on his mind than burning down bridges.

"There's been a complete 180 in your interactions with everyone at the firm. I'm not complaining, but I want to make sure it isn't because your planning something. Are you seeing someone?" leave it to Jessica to get straight to it.

He laughs because Jessica's real question was her last one she was simply layering it with the first, "is that why you called me in? To see if I was sleeping with someone."

She smiles like she understands something he doesn't, "I never said sleeping, I said seeing. She must be special to make you change this much."

Harvey nods in agreement. "No I'm not seeing someone, not yet," he leaves it at that and lets Jessica take what she wants from it, but it's pretty clear what he means.

August

It's sweltering and Harvey finds it even harder to remain patient. He's tired, tired of waiting and tired of this damn heat. He immediately regrets being in a office made entirely of windows; it's like a the sun was giving him the finger for being the ass that he is. Although, maybe it isn't so bad because he convinced Donna to move with him into the, windowless, library and continue working. They were much closer together than normal.

"Guess being on the 50th floor means you're 50 floors closer to the sun," she laughs jotting down important highlights of a lucrative deal he needed to settle. "The great Harvey Specter chased out by a little heat," her hand motions only emphasize her sarcasm.

He huffs out a laughs, "Please, it looked like you were about to break out the sunscreen."

"If I didn't know any better I would say you were trying to get me alone," she lifted and eyebrow feeling playful.

He draws in and its the closest they've been since June, "And what if I am?" She freezes up immediately and rolling her eyes, effectively ending whatever it was they were having. It's the most he's gotten out of her in almost two months; he counts it as one of his greatest victories.


End file.
